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Subject:Re: enjoy your site, and a question
From:Martin Jagersand
Date:Tue, 23 Jun 1998 21:10:16 -0400

I have recently purchased an '82 Westfalia diesel and have been finding =
   a few bugs about.

Congratulations

   I would be interested in what your temperature guage =
   reads while city and highway driving?

Always over the diode after warmup. That is about 90C
The previous mark is 60C. Haven't had it up above 90C.
Temps measured with temp probe to a DMM.

   Mine reads: just below the center =
   mark(warning light) in the city, and on the highway just beyond the =
   center mark(warning light) and as high as the 3/4 mark. Seems odd that a =
   "cooling system" should run at a higher temp. on the highway than the =
   city driving. All driving takes place at about 23 C.

You might have air in your cooling system. In the vanagon that would
collect in the radiator (highest point). You use more power at
highway driving (approx 30hp at 90kmh) than city (approx 10hp at
50kmh) so the engine outputs more waste heat. Less coolant in radiator
means less effective cooling, so while it may cool ok at 10hp
(corresponds to about 20 kW waste heat, at least half which is
dissipated by the radiator) it may not be as efficient at 30hp
(70kW waste heat).

Solution: Bleed the cooling system. There's a bleeder valve
on the radiator. Run engine until warm. Bleed off all air, while
keeping the overflow tank topped up. Put a hose on the bleeder
valve and stick into clear jar of coolant. Bleed until no more
bubbles can be seen from hose end. Detailed instructions are in
the bentley manual. Check the http://gerry.vanagon.com/ list
archives for more postings on the topic.

   I have used your site many times; great links, photos, and information. =
   Thanks.

   Daryle Gessner
   Victoria, BC
   Canada

Glad you enjoyed the page.

Cheers,
Martin
--
Martin Jagersand                 email: jag@cs.yale.edu
Computer Science Department             jag@cs.rochester.edu
Yale University

        Slow down and visit the VW diesel Westy page:
          WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw
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